buzzville

2007

Happy New Year! I can hardly believe another year has whizzed by... still trying to get a grip on that! We're back from a true winter wonderland... we spent a week in Colorado for the holiday, and it was probably the white-est Christmas we'll ever have. Despite all of the disasters other folks encountered traveling to Denver, we somehow were able to get in and out as scheduled. It was almost like magic - we were one of the very first flights to arrive in Denver following the first storm, and our departure was timed perfectly so that the snow from the second storm had already been plowed from the runways. Luck was certainly on our side!

We stayed with my in-laws up in the mountains outside Larkspur. The roads were pretty nutty most the time we were there, but we managed to make it into Denver twice to visit some of our favorite spots and tour the new wing of the Denver Art Museum by architect Daniel Libeskind. (The older wing was designed by Gio Ponti!) But, most of the fun was had playing in the snow. It was Brynne's first time with any real quantity of snow, and she was thrilled to have virtually endless snowball fights. Here are some photos to share in the fun:

 

suited up in snow gear for the first time!

making a snowman with grandpa

snowball fight action shot!

hanging out under the pool table with her cousin (don't they look like brother & sister?!?)

snow on red rocks - totally gorgeous!

eating pristine snow from a custom snow chair!

crazy angles at the Denver Art Museum

the scenery as we *slowly* make our way to Denver in the middle of the second snow storm

My in-laws got about 3 feet of snow in the first storm (just before we arrived), and another 2.5-3 feet in the second storm (all in the space on one week!). It was so wonderful to be back in Colorado again - it was such a great place to live. And, I actually got to see some WEATHER! The week went entirely too quickly, and now it's back to work and the regular routine. I'm full of optimism for the new year - I hope I don't get too behind too quickly!

What are your hopes and goals for the new year?

peepish

Wow! Thanks everyone for all of the name suggestions for Kevin, and keep them coming! This is fantastic!

I realized today that I haven't blogged about an amazing new invention: Holiday Cookie Flavored Peeps! I know that my partner Mariko is largely considered the Peep queen, but she hasn't blogged this - so I have to!

I originally picked up a couple of packages of these to send as gifts to folks overseas, but I had to try one for myself. Am I the only one who has tried these?!? They are *so* good! I'm normally not much of a peep person - kinda take 'em or leave 'em. But these actually taste like something (not sure what...), and it's really good! I went to look for more information on these bits of spongy deliciousness, and I discovered an entire Official Peeps Website full of tidbits. Of course, I was immediately drawn to the Featured Recipes and Crafts section.

I bet you didn't know that you can make a candleholder out of the Christmas tree-shaped peeps:

And, I think I have to officially throw down the gauntlet and challenge Mariko to make this (bring on the diabetes) holiday treat:

   

What do you think Mariko? Are you up to the challenge of making the Peep "Circle of Friends" Holiday Cake? I think your guests would love it!

Memories & Quilting

This year was a special year in my family; my grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday, and my grandparents celebrated their 60th anniversary. Needless to say, despite my grandfather's recent health calamity, we still had much to be happy about. Their anniversary fell on December 12th, and the initial plan was to have a family celebration for a few days in Yosemite. However, by that time my grandfather was unable to move about, and a long car ride and days away from home were not in the picture. So, we decided to postpone the formal celebration until he was feeling better.

I knew I wanted to do something special for their anniversary, and I decided to finally experiment with printing on fabric and using Bubble Jet. I had my mom gather photos of my grandparents, alone and together, from around the time they were married. I picked out 3 favorites and had Jerry scan them in at the highest possible resolution, in case we needed to re-size them. I decided to make a quilted wall-hanging, using 3 star blocks around each of the 3 photos. I went with a very traditional design and colors to match their decor. These photos are admittedly terrible in the bright sunshine (I took more shots using film and different lighting but haven't yet gotten them developed), but hopefully you'll get the idea:

and here are some close-ups:

my grandfather in his army photo

my grandparents' wedding photo

and my gorgeous grandmother

I quilted in the ditch to echo the star motifs, and I added a hanging rod and label (also printed on fabric using Bubble Jet) to the back:

Jerry manipulated and cropped the photos somewhat to make them square and make their heads about the same size in the individual photos. Otherwise, we left the artifacts on the photos (creases, age spots, discoloration, etc.) to be a bit more authentic. We gave them the quilt on Christmas day, and my grandmother was extremely moved when she read the dedication on the label (she cried! she *never* cries!). Although the entire project went really quickly (by necessity) from start to finish, I think it came out really well. I also really liked printing on fabric, and I'm starting to think of some new projects using this technique - it works amazingly well!

Girl learns to knit...

... and everyone gets a scarf! Am I the only one to do this?!? I was so in love with the drop stitch pattern I learned in my knitting class that all of the women in my family got one of these for Christmas:

These were all knit on size 13 needles. The one on the top is Louisa Harding's Kimono Ribbon yarn and the bottom two are Knit One Crochet Too's Tartelette yarn. I also made one more that I didn't get a chance to photograph - 4 of these scarves in all! I know these aren't terribly exciting for all of the experienced knitters out there, but I'm just thrilled that I'm making *something* with this newly acquired skill.

I had hoped to post more before Christmas struck, but quickly became overwhelmed with lots of activity. We spent 2 full days with my grandparents, which was probably about all they can handle in their current condition, and had a wonderful celebration. Here's a belated Merry Christmas to all who celebrated, and Happy Holidays to everyone. I have *some* hope that my regular job is slowing down a bit, meaning that I'm hoping to get back to crafting and blogging more regularly. Wish me luck!

3 More Days!

Admittedly, this year I have not had the time to do nearly as much for the holidays as I had planned. However, I have a little more evidence that we have not been completely idle here at chez buzzville...

Baking has taken us by storm the past couple of days, starting with this incredible almond bundt cake that I had to make after reading about it on Abby's blog:

Night-time photos suck, but the cake didn't - very dense and "almond-y" - as a lover of marzipan and all other almond sweets, I just couldn't resist!

Next we went into cookie mode, and the first two recipes to get made are both thanks to Martha:

butter pecan cookies and anise drops (I couldn't find this recipe online, but it's from the December 2000 issue of Living. I'd be happy to email anyone who would like it!) Jerry has fond memories of the springerle that his grandmother used to make, but I don't have a springerle mold (yet!), so the anise drops were my substitution. Both came out really well, and I'd recommend both recipes.

Of course, we couldn't leave out Brynne's holiday crafting! This year, everyone is getting a dish towel, custom designed by Brynne:

I got this idea from Family Fun, and it would have been perfect had Brynne not started crying and hating the whole project about half way through... It's funny (or not so funny!) that she usually ends up unhappy with the projects I think she'll love.

Hopefully more to post tomorrow!

Slow down, please!

Yes, I really need everything and everybody to just slow down. I think my brain might implode if I attempt to keep up the pace. It's been a whirlwind lately and my body is starting to complain! My grandfather was admitted to the hospital last week after a scary emergency room trip. They've got him on methadone for the pain, but unfortunately it's also causing heavy duty hallucinations and delusions. We had some very odd conversations last week... Luckily, he's now at home and his body seems to be adjusting to the methadone, meaning he is becoming much more lucid. I was so afraid that he might live his last days in a strange and fictional place - thank goodness he's not only feeling better, but is also getting back to his old self!

Amidst this chaos, we have been trying to be festive, albeit much less than in years past... We took Brynne to the "North Pole" on the "Polar Express" via the Fillmore and Western Railway historic train. She had a fantastic time - we had cookies and chocolate milk, sang with elves, saw the hobo, and visited with Santa. It's all she's talked about since!

I got 2 amazing new ornaments in the mail from the fantastic Art Star show:

Sarah's This little Piggy, and

Jenny's Wee Peppermint Beast!

Aren't they incredible?!? I love having these on the tree, along with the ornament set from Sarah and my little wee ornament from Hillary - it's a crafty tree!

Jerry also joined in the holiday crafting and got creative with this gingerbread house:

and here's a close-up of the adorable little people:

More holiday crafting news to come... a bunch of near-finished projects are in the works!

Holiday Papercrafting!

Although I wouldn't describe myself as a paper-crafter, I definitely love all of the beautiful supplies out there for folks who are scrapbookers, collage artists, etc. I'm dabbling a bit in paper this holiday season because I'm so short on time this year, and paper is readily accessible and fun to play with.

I bought the Paper Source village street accordion card kit which is really amazing. I didn't buy it to use as a card, but more as a decoration for our house.

After finding this kit, I was inspired to look for any free print, cut, and fold holiday paper crafts. Here are some of my favorites:

reindeer and sleigh

Christmas tree

Santa hat

singing carollers and jogging reindeer (these can actually move!) (via Paper Forest)

bouncing Santa

I *love* stuff like this - all you need is a color printer and some card stock! Enjoy!

Rudolph Anyone?

This is going to seem a bit random, but I scored the cutest little Japanese vinyl stuffed deer toys today. I really only want one for us, but I bought them all thinking that some of you out there might want one as well. So, here are the details:

• vinyl stuffed deer toy standing about 11" high (from toe to top of head) with removable, snap collar; tag reads "Prime Collection, Produced by Prime Nakamura Co., Ltd." I think this is the "Petit Babie" featured on this page. These are all in new condition - some still have the original price tag on them ($14.99). I have 4 3 2 1 available to go to a new home; send me an email (buzzville at earthlink dot com) if you're interested in either purchasing or swapping for one of the cuties. All deer have been claimed to go to a new home. Thanks everyone!

 

Gifts Galore!

I guess it's no surprise that I have gifts on the brain at the moment. If you don't have kids or don't like toys, you might want to skip this post. I've gotten great ideas from some other bloggers out there, so I thought I'd also share some of the things we're getting this year. Hopefully I'll also get around to the *handmade* gifts!

Brynne is, not surprisingly, our focus this year. She's is a terrible 2 1/2, and I've decided I've had enough of all the cheap, plastic, battery-operated toys. This is not to say I have total control over what she gets from others, but at least our gifts (Santa's gifts) will be well made and probably even heirloom quality. She's already lucky enough to have a huge collection of the Brio Plan City toys (thanks to my mom!) - I love them for their modern look and the ability to expand ad nauseum - and her preschool teacher and I agreed that she would love a dollhouse. Since I'm very modern-minded and not into the really girly stuff, the Brio Contemporary Dollhouse seemed perfect. And, of course, there are all the various items to furnish and accessorize the dollhouse, not to mention the barn and gardening stuff!

 

She's also the perfect age for lacing cards, and I found this great set illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, one of our favorite illustrators (he also has a cute circus set).

We're pretty anti-candy in our house, so Brynne's stocking will be filled with toys from Kinder Surprise Eggs. Kinder-Eggs.com offers great deals on "toys only" if you just want the toys.

I've loved the Automoblox toy cars since they came out, but Brynne hasn't been old enough to play with them until this year. I'm thrilled that I waited because they came out with a new series this year, including the ultra-cool A9 which will be appearing under our tree. In case you aren't familiar with these, they come completely apart, and they can be re-assembled with parts from any of the other cars. So, once you have 2 or 3, you can start building your own crazy creations!

I was thrilled when I spied Lane Smith's Pinocchio, the Boy on sale for $4.99 at Barnes & Noble yesterday - another gift to go under the tree by another of our favorite illustrators!

I've had a great time discovering some amazing online toy shops this year, and my favorite thus far is Zebra Hall. I was going to highlight some of my favorites from their catalog, but I just can't choose. Their site is definitely worth a look if you're in the market for unique and quality toys. One thing we did pick up from their catalog is the versatile Bilibo chair. It's affordable, versatile, and looks really fun; I've been having a tough time not opening the box and giving it to Brynne early!

I'm also currently a bit obsessed with all the wooden food toys out there. Like Oscar, Brynne is getting a set of wooden cutting food, and I'm already seeing tons more that I'd like to get... eggs, chocolate cake, hot dogs in a tin (!), etc. I'm also torn about this wooden tea and cake set... Brynne already has a tea set that she got for her second birthday, but it's pink plastic with stickers of the various Disney "princesses" on it - ugh - definitely not my taste. So, the quandary is whether or not I should replace it with one I like, given that there's a chance that the person will find out I have done so... hmmmmm.

Well, that's enough for this post. Consider this my guide to toddler gift giving this year!